Carl Pei: The End of Smartphone Apps is Near

Carl Pei and the Revolution of App-Free Smartphones

Carl Pei, co-founder and CEO of Nothing, recently shared an audacious vision for the future of smartphones, where traditional applications would be replaced by intelligent agents. At the SXSW conference in Austin, he asserted that applications as we know them today are destined to disappear, and that startups must prepare for this inevitable transformation.

Pei explained that this perspective was a key factor in Nothing's $200 million Series C funding round last year. The company aims to create a smartphone that uses AI to provide a personalized user experience, without users needing to verify the results provided by the AI. This vision has already been articulated by Pei, emphasizing the importance of an AI-focused device.

A New Era for Smartphones

During his talk at SXSW, Pei outlined the necessary steps to achieve this goal. The first step, already tested by some companies, involves developing an AI capable of performing simple tasks like booking flights or hotels. However, Pei considers this functionality "boring" and insufficient to revolutionize the user experience.

Instead, he envisions an AI that learns users' long-term intentions, helping them achieve personal goals such as improving their health. According to Pei, such a system could offer proactive suggestions, anticipating needs that users have not yet identified. He compared this concept to ChatGPT's memory feature, where the AI could propose ideas that the user had not considered.

Towards an AI Interface

Pei criticizes the current smartphone interface, which he deems outdated. He compares the current user experience to that of Palm Pilots and PDAs, highlighting that little has changed in 20 years. He wants to see devices capable of executing intentions without requiring manual interaction with multiple applications. Pei expressed his frustration that the technology consumers use has evolved significantly, but the products we use have not.

He provided the example of the difficulty of accomplishing simple tasks on a phone, such as ordering coffee, which requires multiple applications. "It's probably like four apps to get coffee with someone — a messaging app, some kind of map, Uber, calendar," he explained.

He envisions a future where smartphones are equipped with an interface designed for AI agents, rather than for humans. This would allow devices to understand and act on users' intentions in a seamless and intuitive manner. However, Pei clarifies that applications will not disappear immediately. Nothing's operating system already allows users to create their own mini-apps. But ultimately, the AI will need to interact with these applications without mimicking human touch, navigating autonomously through menus.

In conclusion, Pei asserts that the future lies in creating interfaces tailored for AI agents, an approach he considers the most sustainable. "This is not the future. The future is not the agent using a human interface. You need to create an interface for the agent to use. I think that's the most sustainable way to do it," he stated.